A Filipino nanny is facing deportation from Canada after she was found guilty of “misrepresentation” because she briefly worked under the table while waiting for an open work permit amid an immigration backlog.

“I’d say ‘the fix was in’ for Lilia. She fulfilled all the requirements of the live-in caregiver program but was caught by an extraordinarily long period of delay in receiving her open work permit from the government,” said the woman’s lawyer, Jennifer Stone, of the Neighbourhood Legal Services.

“Because of this delay, she was forced to do some babysitting under the table. She didn’t want to go on welfare and she had no other choice. I believe a real injustice has been done in her case.”

Joaquin, who has a university degree in architecture, came to Toronto in 2007 under the live-in caregiver program. In 2009, the 52-year-old mother of five applied for permanent residency and an open permit after she met the minimum two-year “live-in” requirement of the program.

At the time, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) had a huge backlog and live-in caregivers who had qualified for permanent status routinely had to wait 18 months for open work permits. Joaquin’s didn’t arrive until two years later, in November 2011.

For four months, she babysat for a family while her application for a new work permit was in process. For that, she was deemed inadmissible for misrepresentation by “working without authorization.”

In refusing Joaquin’s deferral request, CBSA said deferring a removal is a temporary measure intended for “exceptional” circumstances.

“It is not the appropriate avenue to circumvent any legislative measures enacted by parliament to preserve the integrity of Canada’s immigration process,” an enforcement officer wrote in a letter dated last Friday.

“The removals process is a difficult experience and that relocation may be difficult at this time. However, I am not satisfied that you have provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that you face a genuinely exceptional circumstance that justifies the deferral of your removal.”

Joaquin’s lawyer had argued that her client had met all the requirements at the time she submitted her permanent residency application, and should not be punished for the administrative backlog.

Stone has filed an application to ask the immigration department to grant Joaquin permanent resident status on humanitarian and compassion grounds. A decision is pending. However, an appeal to Immigration Minister Chris Alexander to intervene has been denied.